104 HEARINGS BEFORE COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE. 
too highly developed in the plant it is sensitive to the disease, and 
where it is not so highly developed the plant is resistant to disease; 
but we do not know just why this is, though we do know the conditions 
under which we can increase or decrease that ferment. However, that 
is such a technical scientific investigation that we do not feel it ig 
proper for us to put very much time on that problem, particularly 
when we know of a simple and quick method of producing resistant 
varieties. We have such varieties, though we can not tell fully why 
they are resistant. But we are working on the problem as time 
permits. : : 7 
Mr. Gattoway. The manner in which this little thing does its work 
may be of interest. It is a little fungus parasite. It goes first to 
the vessels that conduct the water to the leaves and chokes them up, 
and that is the whole matter. 
Mr. Woops. It fills up the water ducts. 
The Cuarrman. What have you done to stop that? What has actu- 
ally taken place? 
Mr. Woops. We havea plant that keeps the fungus out of its tissues. 
The plant poisons the parasite or resists it. 
Mr. Bowis. It is a case of anti? 
Mr. Woops. A case of antitoxin; yes, sir, something like that. 
Mr. Scorr. Is it a vegetable or animal? : 
Mr. Woops. It is a vegetable. It belongs toa group of fungi very 
widely distributed. In the same region as the cotton and cowpea 
wilt is a wilt disease of watermelon. Everbody knows that water- 
melons can not be grown in some sections of the South more than one 
or two years on the same land, and the watermelon industry is nearly 
destroyed in some places. The disease is due to a fungus closely 
related to the one causing cotton wilt. We are trying also to produce 
a wilt resistant watermelon. 
Mr. Burieson. That would be of deep interest to our colored 
brethren. 
Mr. Woops. Yes; and it means many million dollars a year to the 
southeastern part of the United States. 
Mr. Bowrs. I do not want the negro to be understood as being the 
only friend the watermelon has. 
Mr. Gatroway. There is a problem in here also that may disturb 
you gentlemen, because it has reference to the seed distribution. The 
wilt has got into the melon seed out West, and it has been difficult for 
us to secure enough melon seed for the annual seed distribution. 
Mr. Woops. The melon will go out of existence as a crop in some 
sections unless we can get resistant varieties. 
The Cuatrman. What became of the Turkestan melon? 
_ Mr. Woops. We are using that with others in our breedin work, 
in order to get resistant qualities. We have some resistant y brids 
that are very sweet and very fine melons, and the question now is, 
Can we fix these strains and make them come true to seed? A portion 
of aes $5,000, namely, $400 of this, is going to be used on the melon 
work. 
The Cuatrman, There is no assurance but that the seed disposed to 
the cotton wilt will not also be subject to other diseases? 
; Mr. Woops. No, there is none; but we find that we have wilt-resist- 
ing cotton which is also resistant to some other diseases. The wilt 
disease, however, is the chief one at the present time. We consider 
